I Can Surface Mount Solder

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A gentle introduction to surface mount soldering.

Surface mount soldering can be a daunting to a hobbyist, but it can be done, and is actually much easier than it looks. I've designed this project to be a gentle introduction. You'll end up with a heart beating pendent that will show off your new found skill.

What you get

1 ea. Purple PCB, lovingly manufactured in the US by OSH Park.

1 ea. ATTINY85 (Pre-programmed.)

1 ea. SMD SPST switch.

1 ea. SMD Battery holder.

1 ea. Red 1206 LED.

1 ea. 330 ohm 1206 SMD Resistor.

1 ea. 0.1 uF cap 1206.

What you need

CR2032 battery.

Soldering iron.

Solder.

Wire nippers.

Tweezers.

Solder Wick

Not sure about making a kit? I've tried to make this as easy a possible to assemble to ensure your success. Check out the detailed instructions at Instructables.com and/or watch this informative instructional YouTube video.

Final note: If you are interested in doing these for a large group or event, I'm willing to help you customize the silk screen or programming.

Reviews

Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

I love this kit :)

The kit is really nice. Once done, you have a tiny led blinking in a breathing patterns hand soldered.

Only little details bothering me is the lack of doc specific to the kit. The only doc is for the idea of the kit, written for someone gathering the parts by themselves. I spend a few minutes wondering about the orientation of the led even if the doc clearly say that some led have a tee shape with two leg crossing the part and the third one giving away the orientation. The kit come with one of these led clearly labelled. Also, the part are not labelled. I spend a few minutes before being confortable with a black shape with white number being a resistor, a brown shape being a capacitor and the white one being a led.

Anyway, beside theses nudges, the doc was good. The attiny is clearly marked with a red dot in the corner. Everything came together quite nicely. There was also a pair of extra part for turning the kit into a pin. After a suggestion from the author, I spend maybe 6 bucks in a DIY store and I now have a nice blinking necklace. I'm currently wearing my kit :)

Response from Makersbox | Jan. 20, 2018

Thanks for the constructive feedback. Since this is a beginners kit, any thing that causes confusion could be improved. I'll work on getting some additional photos and details about the parts and identification. You can post a photo of the necklace in the comments of the Instructable. I'd love to see it!

An easy way to know that You Can Surface Mount Solder

The product is a very straightforward DIY kit.With the pretty good documentation and the self-explanatory way the components were packed, it only is up to your SMD soldering skills.A nice plus is the pre-programming done to the ATtiny, so one doesn't have to bother doing that. Just solder everything together, and enjoy the beating heart!The shipping was quick, with tracking included.

Great way to break into Surface Mount Soldering!

The kit was complete and the instructions were clear. With my through-hole experience all these years, it became a great excuse to finally try surface mount soldering. Recommended. The video is helpful, but refer to the URL provided on the packaging for the true instructions. I watched the video first, soldered up the board... and then read the instructions. Oops. But in the end, the circuit worked as expected.

Great

Response from Makersbox | Aug. 19, 2017

Hey Jan,

Thanks for the first review of this product! Glad it made it and you liked it. You could post a picture in the comment section of the Instructable. Maybe with it in front of some landmark to show us what it is like in the Czech Republic?

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